Joe Grant Ride

Nick and I tested out the bike+weehoo trailer setup on some dirt roads. Much fun was had by all (well, expect maybe for me on a couple of steep pedaling stretches when the kid decided not to help from the back).

Hills. Sound. Music. You know.

Fueling up before the ride.

Attempt at a selfie cut off the kid's head.

Here's the kid 

Stop to find a geocache

Somebody doesn't believe me that he has to get off and walk up. The hill ahead
was too steep for me to pedal all the way up.

Baby's first hike-a-bike

Somebody is not amused by having to walk (I offered him
to push the bike too, but that was rejected)

And at the top of the hill we saw ... some cows. See all those dots in the distance.
They are cows. Running towards us. For no reason. Maybe they were mad.
We decided not to find out, turned around and went back down the hill.

Picture to see what it looks like behind me. Someone is slightly dazed from
the fast decent. 

Moutain biking is exhausting.

Reading riting rithmetic

Just to prove that it's not all hockey all the time here...

Although, as he was tracing out the f's, I heard "F is for the forward, who likes to skate quite fast, he likes to pass and shoot and score a goal at last" (from "Z for Zamboni" book). So never mind, it is all hockey all the time here.

I am not the crazy chicken lady

I didn't just go out to the park at the crack of dawn to collect dandelion greens for the girls' breakfast.

But they were so happy! Plus feeding greens makes the eggs taste better.

This is great. Maybe some more clover next time though, please.

I've also been known to feed them chocolate cupcakes...

Is that how you get chocolate eggs?

Not a crazy chicken lady, not at all.

Gear creep, the OMG edition

Remember this post? And how I thought that was a lot of gear.

Hahahaha.

The Sharks Foundation is sponsoring a "learn to play" program this year. 4 weeks of hockey lessons and all the gear for kids who've never ice played hockey before. So today, we went back to the Hockey Giant store to pick up our stuff.

Waiting to start. They had coffee and donuts for the parents too
while the kids were getting fitted. I love them!

Gear bag pickup. The bag is large enough to fit
the whole child.

Fitting elbow pads. He also got shin guards and
shoulder pads.

Testing out the new stick

All set. Gear, stick, and donut in hand. 

At home, we practiced putting all that stuff on. It was complicated.

All the pads. 

Full outfit (minus the skates). Ready to play!

Can't wait for the hockey practice to start in a few weeks!

Why we didn't go to the doctor yesterday.

Why we didn't go to the doctor yesterday. A short story.

Backstory #1: There's a measles outbreak in California.

Backstory #2: Nick has been sick with a cold, and has a lingering cough that sounds awful (but doesn't really bother him)

8pm: The child complains about being itchy. After ignoring him several times, we finally take a look and discover that he's covered in a red rash with welts. It looks like hives, so he must have eaten something, or wandered into poison oak while hiking. He's scratching and miserable, so we decide to pack him into the car and take him to the doctor to see if they can give him something for the itch.

8:25pm: We are in the car on El Camino, stuck in traffic (because Bay Area), and finally have a few minutes to think carefully about the situation. We suddenly think about the conversation that will happen at the doctor's office when we arrive.

Nurse: So, what seems to be the problem?
Parents: He has a rash all over.
Nurse: Have you been traveling?
Parents: Well, yes...
Nurse (suspiciously, backing away): Really? Has he had a fever?
Parents: Well, yes, a few days ago.
Child: Hack, cough, wheeze, hack, sneeze, snort, hack.
*many people in white uniforms arrive, take us away into a clean room, and don't let us out for many hours as they test everyone for measles exposure*
Parents: Please! Let us out! It's just an itchy kid!!!

8:30pm: We decide that itchy hives was still better than being stuck in the hospital for hours while they rule our measles, turn around, go to Walgreens, get some anti-histamines (in case it's hives) and calamine lotion (in case it's poison oak) and return home.

9pm: Apply calamine lotion all over itchy child. Child stops itching temporarily and goes to bed. Hives are mostly gone by morning.

Obviously we guessed right. But I really would have felt better if a doctor looked him over first and then told me to put something on it and go to bed. But because there's a disease that should have been eliminated through vaccines running around California, I am terrified to go to the doctor with a rashy kid because they might not let us out again. Please, people, vaccinate your children, because I want to actually be able to go to the doctor again!